Shipping without soil often better for wallet, plants

February 19, 2013|By Beth Botts, Special to Tribune Newspapers

Plants that travel naked can be a good deal for a gardener.

Bare-root plants — so-called because they are shipped with the dirt shaken off the roots — usually are substantially less expensive than plants that must be transported along with heavy soil, according to Todd Jacobson, head of horticulture at The Morton Arboretum in Lisle. This April, the Arboretum will be planting more than 800 bare-root Cornelian cherry dogwood shrubs (Cornus mas "Golden Glory") to enclose its hedge demonstration garden.

The benefits extend beyond cost savings. Bare-root plants adapt more readily to less-than-optimal soil conditions, Jacobson says. And it can be easier to plant trees and shrubs properly — at just the right soil depth — because you can easily see the root structure and the spot where the roots flare from the trunk.

There are a couple of drawbacks to bare-root plants. Their roots dry out fast, so they must be wrapped carefully, shipped promptly and planted as soon as possible. And if you're a home gardener who is not ordering shrubs by the hundreds, mail-order sources can be hard to find. Try an Internet search with the name of the plant you want and "bare root."

Roses, particularly grafted hybrid tea roses, are the plants most commonly sold bare root. Some perennials, such as daylilies, irises and peonies, also may be sold that way. If you dig, you may find sources for bare-root shrubs, and the detective work can be worth it if you need a number of plants. "You get more bang for your buck, for sure," Jacobson says.

Bare-root plants usually are sold for spring planting. When they arrive, their roots will be wrapped to retain water, whether in wet newspaper, straw or a hydrogel. Make sure that the wrapping and the roots still are moist.

Jacobson recommends soaking the roots in a bucket of water — briefly for perennials, up to 24 hours for trees and shrubs — and then planting as quickly as you can. If it will be more than a couple of days, he suggests potting up smaller plants or piling moist mulch over the roots of large ones until you can get them in the ground.

You may need to stake trees that were planted bare root to anchor them. And you will need to be extra attentive to watering, especially for the first few months until the plants are established.

Beth Botts is a staff writer at The Morton Arboretum in Lisle (mortonarb.org).